December 2018 Atlanta Rent Report

Welcome to the December 2018 Atlanta Rent Report. Atlanta rents remained steady over the past month. In this report, we'll evaluate trends in the Atlanta rental market, including comparisons to cities throughout the metro, state, and nation.

December 2018 Atlanta Rent Report

Welcome to the December 2018 Atlanta Rent Report. Atlanta rents remained steady over the past month. In this report, we'll evaluate trends in the Atlanta rental market, including comparisons to cities throughout the metro, state, and nation.

Atlanta rents declined over the past month

Atlanta rents have declined 0.1% over the past month, but have increased slightly by 1.8% in comparison to the same time last year. Currently, median rents in Atlanta stand at $1,030 for a one-bedroom apartment and $1,190 for a two-bedroom. Atlanta's year-over-year rent growth lags the state average of 1.9%, but exceeds the national average of 1.3%.

Rents rising across the Atlanta Metro

Throughout the past year, rent increases have been occurring not just in the city of Atlanta, but across the entire metro. Of the largest 10 cities that we have data for in the Atlanta metro, all of them have seen prices rise. Here's a look at how rents compare across some of the largest cities in the metro.

Marietta has seen the fastest rent growth in the metro, with a year-over-year increase of 4.7%. The median two-bedroom there costs $1,340, while one-bedrooms go for $1,160.

Roswell has the most expensive rents of the largest cities in the Atlanta metro, with a two-bedroom median of $1,440; rents grew 0.4% over the past month and 3.6% over the past year.

Newnan has the least expensive rents in the Atlanta metro, with a two-bedroom median of $1,180; rents were up 0.9% over the past month but remained flat year-over-year.

Atlanta rents more affordable than many large cities nationwide

As rents have increased slightly in Atlanta, a few large cities nationwide have seen rents grow more quickly. Atlanta is still more affordable than most large cities across the country.

Rents increased slightly in other cities across the state, with Georgia as a whole logging rent growth of 1.9% over the past year. For example, rents have grown by 0.9% in Augusta and 0.8% in Columbus.

Atlanta's median two-bedroom rent of $1,190 is slightly above the national average of $1,180. Nationwide, rents have grown by 1.3% over the past year compared to the 1.8% increase in Atlanta.

While Atlanta's rents rose slightly over the past year, the city of Seattle saw a decrease of 0.4%.

Renters will find more reasonable prices in Atlanta than most large cities. For example, San Francisco has a median 2BR rent of $3,100, which is more than two-and-a-half times the price in Atlanta.

For more information check out our
national report.
You can also access our full data for cities and counties across the U.S. at
this link.

City

Median 1BR price

Median 2BR price

M/M price change

Y/Y price change

Atlanta

$1,030

$1,190

-0.1%

1.8%

Roswell

$1,240

$1,440

0.4%

3.6%

Alpharetta

$1,240

$1,430

-0.3%

1.0%

Marietta

$1,160

$1,340

-0.6%

4.7%

Smyrna

$1,130

$1,310

-0.2%

4.3%

Mableton

$1,030

$1,190

-0.8%

2.3%

Newnan

$1,020

$1,180

0.9%

0.2%

Douglasville

$1,050

$1,220

-0.0%

1.8%

Kennesaw

$1,200

$1,390

-0.7%

2.5%

Lawrenceville

$1,150

$1,330

0.2%

3.3%

Tucker

$1,180

$1,370

-0.2%

7.7%

Duluth

$1,260

$1,460

-0.1%

4.3%

Stockbridge

$1,190

$1,370

1.5%

5.6%

Woodstock

$1,150

$1,330

-0.9%

4.3%

Canton

$1,000

$1,150

0.6%

2.6%

McDonough

$1,270

$1,470

-0.8%

2.1%

Acworth

$980

$1,130

-0.1%

1.2%

Union City

$860

$990

0.0%

6.2%

Decatur

$1,020

$1,180

-0.3%

2.8%

Forest Park

$840

$970

0.6%

5.2%

Lithia Springs

$1,020

$1,180

0.1%

2.8%

Suwanee

$1,680

$1,940

0.9%

3.4%

Conyers

$980

$1,130

1.4%

7.5%

Riverdale

$990

$1,150

-0.4%

0.0%

Fairburn

$940

$1,080

1.0%

7.9%

Dallas

$960

$1,110

-0.2%

0.5%

Norcross

$1,150

$1,330

0.1%

5.3%

Austell

$900

$1,040

0.2%

1.4%

Stone Mountain

$960

$1,110

0.8%

1.1%

Jonesboro

$1,030

$1,190

0.4%

5.5%

Lithonia

$1,070

$1,240

-0.6%

2.2%

See more

Methodology - Recent Updates:

Data from private listing sites, including our own, tends to skew toward luxury apartments, which introduces sample bias when estimates are calculated directly from these listings. To address these limitations, we’ve recently made major updates to our methodology, which we believe have greatly improved the accuracy and reliability of our estimates.

Read more about our new methodology below, or see a more detailed post here.

Methodology:

Apartment List is committed to making our rent estimates the best and most accurate available. To do this, we start with reliable median rent statistics from the Census Bureau, then extrapolate them forward to the current month using a growth rate calculated from our listing data. In doing so, we use a same-unit analysis similar to Case-Shiller’s approach, comparing only units that are available across both time periods to provide an accurate picture of rent growth in cities across the country.

Our approach corrects for the sample bias inherent in other private sources, producing results that are much closer to statistics published by the Census Bureau and HUD. Our methodology also allows us to construct a picture of rent growth over an extended period of time, with estimates that are updated each month.

About Rent Reports:

Apartment List publishes monthly reports on rental trends for hundreds of cities across the U.S. We intend these reports to be a source of reliable information that help renters and policymakers make sound decisions, and we invest significant time and effort in gathering and analyzing rent data. Our work is covered regularly by journalists across the country.

We are continuously working to improve our methodology and data, with the goal of providing renters with the information that they need to make the best decisions.